Posts tagged salem

Are you a fan of indie fantasy sandbox Salem? Do you like walls of text that give your mousewheel a serious workout? You might enjoy today's Salem update, then, as Mortal Moments project lead John Carver has a lot to say. And why not? It's been nearly six months since the last such dev blast.
Ca...

Your characters are going to die if you play Salem. That's the nature of the game. It's an open PvP sandbox with permanent death mechanics; your end is forever waiting just around the corner. So doesn't it make sense to prepare for your demise by setting up your inheritance ahead of time? The game'...

One facet of video games that's been around almost since the very beginning is the difficulty level. This has allowed the player to choose how hard or easy a game would be from the onset, influencing factors such as the number of enemies, hardiness of bad guys, fragility of the player character, an...

The colonial perma-death MMO Salem has faced some publisher problems over the last year or so, but indie dev Mortal Moments has swooped in to take over the ambitious project recently. Project Lead John Carver made a formal introduction when the transfer was finalized, but what's even more interesti...

It's Friday once again, and that means it's time for you to snap out of the work week haze and watch Massively Rewind to catch up on the latest MMO news. Don't worry if this is your first time watching because there's honestly not much you need to do at all. Just grab a cup o' joe and listen.
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The end of the world is nigh for Salem and it's rankling more than a few players' sensibilities.
Earlier this month, the developers announced that they will be conducting a full wipe of Salem in an upcoming patch. This will reset the map and delete all characters in order to condense the populat...

If a game has spent a year in beta with no launch in sight, good things are not generally around the corner. So it goes for Salem, the early-America-themed permadeath sandbox MMO. Paradox Interactive has decided to separate from the title altogether, leaving all costs and work associated with the g...

Though infrequent, it does happen: Once in a while two holidays go toe to toe on the calendar. This year, it just so happens that April Fools' Day rides in on the tail of the Easter Bunny. So what do you do when these very different holidays bump up against each other? You do what any self-respec...

A few months ago, I dived into Salem, a hardcore sandbox MMO that promises actual permadeath. That means if your character is killed while in game, he or she stays dead and loses everything. Not of your possible scores of skills are passed on, all items are lost and your homestead -- similar to a...

This week a sizable chunk of the gaming industry descends on downtown San Francisco for the annual Game Developers Convention. And yes, Massively will be there cornering every dev that gets in our sights, convincing them all to answer as many of our burning questions as possible before someone fi...

Allods Online has long been a game that immediately conjures up some form of controversy any time it is mentioned. Whether it's because of cash-shop policies, changes to game mechanics, or the alleged mishandling of player issues, the game just can't seem to catch a break. Since the very beginnin...

Want to get a free look at Salem, the scary hardcore permadeath crafting MMO from Seatribe and the devs responsible for Haven & Hearth? Head to the official Salem website and score a beta key while you can. There were 140 of them when we checked a few minutes ago, so make it snappy!
You ca...

It's time once again for the Frindie Awards, my attempt to shine some light on the best indie, browser-based, free-to-play, and unusual MMOs that are all-too-often ignored by press -- and players. This one is for the little guys! Well, mostly. It's also for those games that seem to have passed un...

I was thrilled when I read a recent news post about one of my favorite MMOs, Wurm Online, finally releasing to the public. Wait a second, releasing? I've been enjoying the game, spending money on it, and forming a Massively village over the last few years. I also know that the game was running --...

Ahh, the big dinner is over... but not the leftovers. And even better, not the pies! MMmm pie. From the results of the poll, pie is the big winner for favorite Turkey Day food. Oh sure, it appears to have tied with stuffing, mashed potatoes, and -- my personal favorite -- the day-after sandwich, ...

Before I get to the part where I rant about one of the strangest exchanges I have had with an independent developer -- and I mean that in a fun, gasp-y sort of way -- I will cover the basics to give you an idea of how Salem the MMO works. You know, just in case you have never been privileged enou...

There are so many issues and subjects to cover this week, thanks to the limited time I spent in Mortal Online, a free-for-all PvP sandbox by Star Vault. I've played my share of MMOs that are similar to Mortal Online, games like EVE Online, Darkfall, Ultima Online, Wurm Online, Salem, and others. ...

We recently sent San Francisco freelancer Emil Vazquez to a demo of Salem, the upcoming colonial-styled, permadeath MMO from Paradox Interactive. This is Emil's impressions of the game; the opinions might not reflect those of Massively as a whole.
I was mildly disappointed that I didn't get to...

Permadeath is one of those game mechanics that seems destined to forever be nibbling away at the fringe of the MMO genre than invited to the cool kids' table. Many players find themselves aghast at the notion of losing all their hard-earned progress with one untimely demise, and it seems like gam...

I spent an hour romping through the woods of Salem last Friday with Seatribe head honcho Bjorn Johannessen. The tiny indie company (current dev population: two) is hard at work on its followup to Haven and Hearth, an acquired taste of a sandbox game notable for its no-holds barred approach that inc...